Food warming attachment for electric toasters



June 14, 1960 F. J. KENNEY ETAL 2,

FOOD WARMING ATTACHMENT FOR ELECTRIC TOASTERS Filed Nov. 26, 1958 {2INVENTOR lbw/wit Jfii zmg 0/10 Join/E 15212110 BY fizymbm 12m ATTORNEYSFOOD WARIWING ATTACHMENT FOR ELECTRIC TOASTERS Francis J. Kenney andJohn F. Kenney, both of 57 Vancouver St., Boston, Mass.

Filed Nov. 26, 1958, Ser. No. 776,508

3 Claims. (Cl. 99-4339) I This invention relates to improvements in afood warming attachment adapted to be secured to the top of an electrictoaster to utilize the heat produced therein for heating articles offood such as biscuits, muffins, buns, toast, and the like.

This application is a continuation-in-part of applicants priorapplication Serial No. 739,342, filed June 2, 1958. In the originalapplication, applicants have disclosed a food warming attachment for anelectric toaster of the type adapted to attach by resilient clips tosides of the slots of a top-slotted electric toaster and to provide anenclosed compartment for storing and warming toast or other articles offood by the heat produced in the toaster. The food warming attachmentdoes not in any way hinder the regular production of toast which may beinserted or removed through slots in the bottom thereof. The originalapplication also disclosed a food warming attachment for toasters inwhich there are storage areas adjacent the ends thereof, and means inthe form of a transverse bar for retaining the articles to be warmedwithin the storage areas while the toaster may be used in its normalfunction. The attachment of this nature may be aliixed to a top-slottedtoaster and need not be removed therefrom unless it is desired to cleanthe attachment or the toaster at periodic intervals.

This application includes many of the desirable features disclosed inthe original application and has the additional advantages of providingan improved form of resilient clip to attach the food warmer to thetoaster as well as a simplified means for retaining the articles to bewarmed in the storage areas.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a food warmingattachment for toasters having an extremely simple and inexpensiveconstruction which attachment may be mass produced by conventional sheetmetal working machinery at a low cost. The construction is simple inthat resilient clips having a depending engaging portion secure theattachment to the toaster by frictionally engaging the toaster shell atends of the toast slots. Also, retaining means are provided forretaining the food to be warmed in storage areas of the toasterattachment by means of an upturned flange or extension on the bottom ofthe warmer adjacent the opening therein. The construction is furthersimplified by the provision of only one large opening in. the bottom ofthe toaster attachment which will register with more than one of thetoast slots in the toaster.

Other objects and advantages of this inventionwill be apparent from thefollowing detailed description and claims when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, theprinciples of this invention and the best mode which has beencontemplated of applying these principles.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side sectional elevation view showing the food warmingattachment of this invention as applied to a top-slotted electrictoaster; and

'ice

Fig. 2 is an end sectional elevation view showing the toaster attachmentof Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, a food warming attachment indicated generallyby reference numeral 10 is adapted to be secured more or lesspermanently to a conventional top-slotted electric toaster 12. Thewarmer 10 includes a generally tray-shaped bottom portion 14 which is 7adapted to support a cover 16 having a handle 18 secured thereto bysuitable screw means 20. A lip 22 may be provided around the peripheryof the cover 16 for determining the extent to which the cover willtelescope the tray 14.

The tray 14 includes a bottom wall 24 having a relatively largerectangular opening 26 near the center thereof. This opening is adaptedto overlie both of the slots of a two-slotted electric toaster, hencethe heated air produced by the toaster will rise therethrough and passinto the enclosed food warming attachment 10.

The areas within the enclosed food warmer 10 which are not directlyabove the opening 26 in the bottom thereof may be defined as the foodstorage areas 28. This invention includes improved means for retainingthe food to be I warmed in these storage areas. As shown in Fig. 1,slices of toast T or other suitable articles of food may be retainedwithin the food storage areas 28 by means of flanges 30 extendingupwardly from the bottom 24 adjacent the ends of opening 26. By makingthe upstanding flanges integral with the bottom 26 or a simpleattachment thereto, substantial expenses of fabrication can be saved.

The sides of the opening 26 may include downturned flanges 32 to aid inpreventing any hot air rising from the toaster 12 from leaking toambient and not going into the warmer 10.

The warmer attachment 10 is secured to the top-slotted toaster 12 by animproved resilient clip means. This clip means includes dependingtongues 34 of resilient material positioned at the ends of opening 26 tooverlie the ends of the slots in the toaster 12. These tongues 34normally extend slightly outward toward the ends of the toasterattachment such that when the attachment 10 is positioned on the toaster12 the-tongues 34 will frictionally engage the toaster shell 36 at theends of the slots therein. The resilient clips which are constructed ofa resilient material may be separate pieces which are attached to thebottom 24 of the tray 14 by spot welding or the like at an attachmentflange 38 thereon.

Although the operation of the food warming attachment is believed to beevident from the foregoing description, a brief summary of the operationwill now be described. The attachment 10 may be secured to aconventional toaster 12 by pushing the ends of the resilient tongues 34toward each other and positioning these tongues at the ends of thetoaster slots. Then the assembly may be pushed down into the toaster andthe tongues 34 will frictionally engage the toaster shell 36 at the endsof the slots and will securely hold the warmer attachment 10 on thetoaster 12. After the attachment 10 is secured on top of the toaster 12it may remain thereon except for periodic cleaning intervals as theattachment 10 in no way interferes with normal operation of the toaster.The cover 16 may be removed by grasping the handle 18 and bread B may beinserted through opening 26 for toasting in a normal manner. The bread Bafter being toasted or any other bakery goods or the like may beinserted in the food storage areas 28 to receive the heat which will bedistributed therein by air conduction from the heat produced in thetoaster 12. Since the resilient clips 34 are positioned at the ends ofthe toaster slots to bear on the toaster shell 36, they will in no wayinterfere with the heating elements of the toaster and the operation ofthe toaster is not impeded in any manner by this attachment.

While there has been shown and described the fundamental novel featuresof the invention as applied to thepreferred embodiment, it will beunder-stood that various omissions and substitutions and changes intheformand details ofthe device illustrated and its 'operation may bemadeby those skilled in. the art without departing from the spirit'of/the invention. lt is the intention, therefore, to be imited only asindicated by the scope of the'fol-lowing claims and reasonableequivalents thereof. V V e e "What is claimed'is; t

1. "A food wa gattachment adapted to secured to a top-slotted electric,toaster, said attachmentcomprising;'a'generally enclosed containerhaving anopeningin a 2, 0,379. t a r finingtat leastonetelongatedopening, in the bottom wall of said container, said .ope ningbeing of suflicient size to overlie the slots of said electric toaster,the bottom Wall 7 of said enclosed eontainer-extending a distance beyondits bottom wall adapted to register with the bread-receiving a top slotsin' an electrictoasten'the: bottom Wall cream enclosed container 1extending substantially" beyond the ends of said opening therein 'to:form a'storage portion Within said enclosed container, wherebyarticles'of food the edges of said openingitodefine foodstorage andwarming areas .structuraltmeans attached tothe inside of the enclosedcontainer and positioned adjacent the ends of said opening in thebottontwall of the container for retaining articles of food in saidfoodstorage and warming areas, and resilient clip means including dependingresilient tongues extending downwardly from said opening at may bestored therein to receive heat produced by said 1 'toaster withoutinterferingwith'the normal operation of the toaster, flanges extendingupwardly from the bottom Wall of said container adjacent the ends ofsaid opening therein, said flanges adapted to retain articles of food'within said storage areas and prevent them from entering I the openingin the bottom wall of said enclosed container, 1 and resilient clipmeans extending downwardly from the bottom of-said enclosed container atthe endsof the opening therein to frictionally engage the shell of thetoaster at the ends of the slots'therein to retain the attachment onthetop of 'thetoa'ster without in any way hindering normaloperation'of'the toaster.

2; 'A device-as defined in claim 1 wherein saidresilient means includeresilient tongues depending from said theends thereof, said tonguesadapted to. be positioned adjacent the ends of each toaster slot, saidresilient tongues being normally biased to fr ictionally engage thetoaster shell at the ends of each toast slot therein to frictionallyholdthe attachment on said toaster without interfering the normal toastingfunction of the toast'enwhen said attachment is secured to a toaster.

References Cited in'the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS"861,007 Wilhelm July 23, 1907 l 1,709,537 Owen Apr. 16, 1929 2,521,855Kodadek Sept. 12, 1-950 2,851,943

Smagula Sept. 16, 1958

